


I Started A Joke

by arsonists_oceans



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Abuse, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Brainwashing, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Natasha Romanov, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Torture, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 11:36:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12210507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arsonists_oceans/pseuds/arsonists_oceans
Summary: When the Avengers return to pick up Tony from the bunker, he isn't there, and that's so much worse.





	I Started A Joke

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! I found a copy of my story Operational in the trash in Google Docs! So yay, for all those who liked it here it is! I only changed the title, because the title is one of my favorite songs by the Bee Gees, plus it fits with the feel of the story. Feedback is great; it feels like you're not typing to crickets. Anywho, hope you enjoy!

The Asset doesn’t remember much about his old self. It’s a blurry picture; nothing is recognizable in the images that float around it. He used to try to make the images fit together, but the chair would always be waiting for him if he tried. Now he’s a silent figure; he’s a weapon. A killer. He has just finished his mission. He was tasked to kill a distinguished diplomat in the Washington D.C area. The scientists surround him and strap him into the chair; they do this after every complete assignment he’s tasked with. Dr. Iza tells him it’s so if he is captured he can’t reveal Hydra information.  
  
His breathing picks up as the slide the mouth guard past his lips. They pull the lever, and the asset muffled shouts rip through the base. It feels as if a fire is in his brain. Slowly pieces of yesterday and the day before pushing themselves out of his mind till there’s nothing. They shock him a few more times before turning the machine off.  
  
Dr. Iza is standing in front of him when he was unattached from the chair and pushed to his feet.  
  
“How are you feeling puppet? I know you don’t like the chair, but it’s all in your best interest.”  
  
The asset nods, he believes her. She’s all he knows; she’s all he remembers these days.  
  
“Come.” She says. She leads him to the observation room. It’s a brightly lit room with two-way glass and bloodstained floors. The asset remembers this place; it’s where he learned how to kill.  
  
“Now puppet, it is time to show Viktor what you can do.” Dr. Iza tells him. She is one of the nicer handlers he’s had. The rest are… he can’t remember, but the pain sometimes resonates in his bones. A psychosomatic feeling, he figures.  
  
The asset nods and walks into the room. There is fresh blood on the walls and floors; someone was in here before him.  
  
Dr. Iza waits for Viktor to approach before sending in the assets first opponent. “Puppet, quick and clean.” She says into the intercom.  
  
They send a soldier into the room. He is bigger than the asset, but he’s learned size doesn’t matter. The asset allows the other soldier to advance upon him first. He grabs the soldiers arm and breaks it. The soldier aims a brutal kick to the assets leg but misses. The asset grabs the outstretched leg and sends the soldier hurdling into the adjacent wall. The soldiers head makes a sickening crack as it collides with the wall.  
  
“He’s gotten stronger,” Viktor says with mild interest. Iza smirks at Viktor, “He’s magnificent, admit it Viktor. Better than them all.”  
  
Dr. Iza viewed the new asset as her greatest work. She believed he would indeed change the face of Hydra.  
  
Viktor scoffs at her. “Yes, yes, yes, your work is impressive but is he ready for the Avengers?"  
  
Iza marks a few things off her clipboard and smiles, “He will be Victor, he will be. The old Anthony Stark is gone. The asset is what we have now.”  
  
Iza taps the intercom button, “come out now puppet.”  
  
“That is not his name. I know not why you give them these pet names.” Viktor scoffs at her. “His name is asset or 63489. These frilly little pet names will make them think they're something other than weapons.”  
  
“You let me work with my puppet, and you work with what you have,” Iza says annoyed. She knew exactly what she was doing.  
  
The asset emerged with the blood of the soldier on him but was otherwise unharmed. Iza softly patted his cheek and pulled a stray hair from his forehead.  
  
“Very good puppet. A hot shower and a warm bed for you. You have a critical mission ahead of you tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

  
It was calm in Stark Tower, Natasha poured her coffee. She poured the sugar and blended the spoon around lazily. She sighed and grabbed her StarkPad.  
  
"Friday any new information on Stark?" Natasha inquired. It was a hopeful question. There had been no lead or indication of him throughout the previous six months.  
  
"None as of now Ms. Romanov. Vision has still not returned. Dr. Banner has not gained ground either on Sir’s whereabouts."  
  
Natasha could hear the sadness in Friday's voice. She missed her creator as much as everyone else in the tower. Maybe even more so.

  
Even after six months, everything was still difficult to get used too. The tower used to be filled with the smell of food either cooked by Steve or Bruce, movies playing in the common room by Clint. You could always hear minor booms from Tony in the workshop. Even after Ultron with the addition of Wanda and Sam everything had managed to flow smoothly.  
  
Now it was broken, friendships ended. The team was divided over the Accords, the tension between them prevented them from even being in the same room. Let alone the same Tower. The minute Pepper had found out that Tony hadn’t returned from Siberia she had banned Roger’s team from returning.  Natasha didn’t blame her one bit.  
  
"Morning Nat."  
  
Natasha sent a small quirk of her lips toward him.  
  
He looked similarly exhausted, if not more. His closest friend had been gone for six months, and after his best efforts, he still hadn’t found him. Natasha could see the layered bags under his eyes. He was running himself ragged. He pulled every string he had in the military to get even the slightest bit of information. Natasha knew the military wouldn’t have the intel needed on HYDRA, but she didn’t try to stop him from trying.  
  
"Rhodey..." Natasha said. Rhodey looked at her as he poured his coffee.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
She remained silent for a moment. She had no clue how to approach the subject with Rhodey. Regardless of the possibility that her suggestion was valid and reasonable Rhodey would protest quickly, there was too much anger and ill will there for him to see reason. However, she attempted in any case.  
  
"We should call the other Avengers they may- "  
  
Rhodey shook his head fiercely; his eyes turned hard and furious. "We should do what? They don't care the slightest bit about Tony! They’d be happy he’s gone! They still believe Tony got them into this mess! They’ll make it worse Natasha.  
  
Natasha moaned and ran her hands through her hair; she knew his reaction would be precisely this. "Rhodey they might be able to help. Clint has, even more, contacts than I do from his time as an agent. Steve could pull strings at SHIELD, and Barnes… Barnes has memories on Hydra that could help us."  
  
Rhodey moved to the opposite direction from her an and grunted. "Why the hell would they help us? They detest Tony, and on the off chance that they do I can't be held responsible for my actions if I see the Captain's face. We can do it without them."  
  
Rhodey was going to proceed when Bruce ventured out the elevator. He must've been rung from the workshop by Friday. Natasha and Rhodey often got into arguments like this when it came to finding Tony. Bruce was usually the mediator when Vision wasn’t here.  
  
Bruce had been back for around three months now. He had touched base from Thailand, hoping to see a tower loaded with the Avengers. Instead, he was welcomed with Rhodey, Natasha, Vision and Pepper and the news of the Accords.  
  
Natasha had disclosed everything to Bruce. Tony was Bruce's closest companion just second to Rhodey. So, when Natasha had got to the part about Siberia Bruce had lost his cool and hulked out. It was hours before the Other Guy went away. After that, he didn't even ask about the other Avengers.  
  
Bruce took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.  
  
"Jim, I would prefer not to ask them for their help either. Be that as it may, we've come up short on assets; we need their help. I’ve gotten rumors of him being in Russia still, but then there are still HYDRA facilities in DC. We need help sorting and following leads.”  
  
Rhodey sighed again, “It’s just, I hate asking the same people who left him to die for help.”  
  
Bruce looked at him understandingly. He didn’t want to ask either, but wanting to have Tony back outweighed everything else.  
  
“We’ve got to Jim. The Avengers will help, whether they want to or not.”    
  
Natasha could hear the absolution in Bruce's voice as could Rhodey as he didn't reply. He tossed his hands up in surrender and strolled around the opposite side of the counter, putting his head in hands.  
  
"I'll make the call," Natasha said as she walked to the back of the room.  
  
"Friday call Rogers." It was a few seconds before she heard the hopeful voice of Steve answering the phone.  
  
"Tony?"  
  
It was Steve's voice. She could here surprise and something else under his voice she couldn't distinguish.  
  
"No. It's me, Rogers."  
  
Natasha could hear Steve wheeze, "where are you? How have you been- - wait where's Tony is he-"  
  
"Steve," Natasha said forcefully, "I need you to come to the Tower."  
  
The line went silent for a few moments again. "Wait, what's this about?" he asked, “Is everything alright?”  
  
"Steve just make sure you’re here within the hour." Natasha pressed the end button before he could state more. Natasha strolled once again into the room. Bruce and Rhodey were still there, alongside Vision.  
  
She tilted her head at Vision, "anything?"  
  
Vision shook his head, unfortunately. "I am sorry, nothing yet on Mr. Stark."  
  
"I'm certain Bruce and Rhodey filled you in. Rogers group will be here within the hour. We should hold up in the meeting room. Knowing Rogers, he'll be here in thirty."  


* * *

  
"Steve, what are we doing here?" Clint asked as they got out the SHIELD vehicle. He gazed at the tower he hadn't stepped foot in for months. He balanced his bow on his back and strolled forward. Wanda and Sam following along.  
  
"Natasha wouldn't say, but she said it was important," Steve stated, he looked behind and glanced at Bucky.  
  
His shoulders were strained, and his stance guarded. Stark was here; Bucky was entering the home of the man whose parents he slaughtered. Steve set a hand on Bucky's shoulder and gripped it firmly.  
  
"I'm fine Steve," Bucky said quietly. However, his stance said otherwise.  
  
“Remember we're not here to cause problems. Natasha said she needed us.” Steve said he wanted this meeting to go as smoothly as possible. Maybe if it went well, they could work on being a team again.  
  
Clint scoffed at Steve, “yeah like we needed them when we were trapped in Ross’s prison?”  
  
Steve sighed and entered the Tower. There was just a single route forward to the elevator, everything else was either closed or locked.  
  
"No one's here," Sam said suspiciously. Steve had noticed that too.  
  
All of a sudden, a voice sounded around them. "The representatives of Stark Tower have been sent to an alternative SI location. This meeting is not a setup Mr. Wilson. Now please proceed to the elevator, and I will take you to your destination."  
  
Steve and Clint remembered it as Friday; she sounded angry, her voice cold.  
  
The arrived on the conference room floor. Everything mostly looked the same from six months ago. Tony was constantly renovating things; he wouldn't have kept the Tower the exact way it was.  
  
Steve could see Natasha, Rhodey, and Vision waiting for them at the table. As they gathered in the meeting room, it became filled with tension. Wanda was occasionally sneaking glances at Vision, though they weren't returned. Clint and Natasha were having some conversation with their eyes. Steve could feel Rhodey staring daggers at him, but he kept his eyes on everything except him. Bucky was stoic and only stared at the glass table in front of him.  
  
"Where's Stark," Clint inquired after a few minutes of silence. Natasha could identify slight threatening vibe in his voice yet disregarded for now.  
  
Natasha ignored him and looked at Rogers instead, "Where's the rest of your team?”  
  
Steve looked weakly at her, apparently not liking that fact she had said, your team.  
  
“T’Challa had to return to Wakanda, and Scott went home. And it's-it's our team. Not mine.”  
  
Rhodey scoffed and shook his head. The team was divided no matter how smoothly Rogers wanted to put it.  
  
"Where's Stark," Clint asked again, there was an annoyance in his tone after being ignored the first time.

  
“He's been kidnapped by HYDRA.” Vision said neutrally. He still hadn't looked at anyone his gaze focused out the window. All he was thinking about was which state he would be going to next to look for Tony after the meeting.  
  
Natasha saw out the edge of her eyes Bucky and Steve stiffen. Steve shook his head eyes filling with angst at the loss of Tony.  
  
“How? When?” Steve asked.  
  
“Sir was kidnapped from the bunker you left him to die in. Sir has been gone for six months, ten days and seventeen hours.” Friday said. There was an edge to her voice, but they could hear the sadness underneath it.  
  
Rhodey could feel his anger rise as Rogers had the nerve to look outraged.  
  
“Why didn't you tell me sooner? You just sat on this for-” Steve began.  
  
Natasha glared at him, her eyes murderous. How dare he act as he cared about Stark. “How was I supposed to know you'd give a damn Steve? You certainly didn't care then, so why would you care now?”  
  
Sam intervened before Steve could reply. Steve would just continue to point out his side of things and Natasha the same. Sam could see the level ground in both their arguments.  
  
“How do you know it was HYDRA?” He smoothly interceded.  
  
Not even second later Friday had pulled up a recording on the head of the table.  
  
The view was from the Iron Man helmet. All it showed was the ruined inside of the bunker. Stark was obviously behind the helmet giving them no view of him or anything else.  
  
_"Sir suit is at 20% functionality and consistently dropping. Repulsors disconnected, flight controls harmed, you have sustained injuri-"  
  
"I know Fri, I know," Tony said. The squeak of metal could be heard as Tony had attempted to stand, however, failed.  
  
"Friday send a distress call to the tower," They could listen to the shudder in his voice. The suit was scarcely shielding him from the icy air.  
  
"Already sent sir," Friday said. The recording was shown within the helmet. They could see Friday was monitoring Stark’s pulse, and sending a wide range of distress calls and running diagnostics on the suit.  
  
It was futile; the suits usefulness was gradually dropping, soon it would be pointless.  
  
There were no hints of movement from Stark, just worked breathing and the unforgiving breeze of Siberia.  
_  
The video remained like that for more than five minutes.  
  
Friday talked over the footage, "Sir was unconscious at this point."  
  
It didn't take long for helicopter propellers to be heard and footsteps on the video. Two male voices spoke in Russian.  
_  
“Это он, Виктор был прав.”  
  
“Мы ожидаем, что он возьмет его и костюм? Костюмы для нас тяжелые для нас”  
  
“Убирай его из костюма, хорошо вернись для него позже.”  
  
“Как вы думаете, что он запланировал для него?”  
  
“Он будет нашим самым большим достоянием. Быть лучше последнего. Я уже видел, что стул готов.”  
  
_Everyone glanced at Bucky as he flinched violently from something someone said in the video.  
  
Friday talked once more, however this time she sounded grave and miserable.  
  
"I attempted to secure the suit; however frameworks were damaged."  
  
Natasha's lips quirked marginally, "It's alright Friday. You did your best."  
  
“What were they saying?” Sam asked. It was only him, and Steve who couldn't understand Russian. Friday pulled the translation onto the screen for him.  
  
_“This is him, Viktor was correct."_  
  
"Are we expected to take him and the suit? The suits to heavy for us to carry out of here."  
  
"Remove him from the suit, well return to it later."  
  
“What do you think Viktor has planned for him?”  
  
“He will be our greatest asset. To be better than the last they said. I already saw the chair ready.”  
  
Everyone was so focused on the video they didn't notice Bruce had walked in. Steve and Clint gasped when they saw him. Clint had gone to stand when Bruce raised his hand, slightly tinted green.  
  
“Don't.” Clint looked shocked at Bruce. They were friends, at least he thought they were.  
  
“It was HYDRA.”  
  
Everyone stilled as Bucky’s rough voice cut through the room. He had been silent and completely unmoving until now. His eyes were on the screen, but it was like he was looking past it.  
  
“Buck?” Steve asked softly.  
  
“Do you know what they want,” Bruce asked.  
  
“They want to turn him into me, yet better. They called him the new asset.”  
  
They all knew what that meant. Hydra planned to turn Tony into the newest Winter Soldier, and they already had a six-month lead. It made Bruce want to release the Other Guy, but he had to remain calm.  
  
“Can you help me. I need you to tell me everything you remember about HYDRA.”  
  
“I'll do it.”  
  
“Good,” Bruce said. “Regardless of how you feel about Tony, Hydra has him. I hope you won't let your petty differences let Hydra win. Tony is invaluable to them right now.”  
  
Natasha stood from her seat and smoothed her clothing. Wasn't a complete disaster, she thought to herself. “Clint, I need you to talk to your contacts see if you can find anything on HYDRA activities. Sam, I'm sure you still have people in the military. Vision has been flying around looking for leads.”  
  
"What of me?" Wanda asked. Natasha turned and glared at her. Wanda's hate for Tony was no secret matter. "Your hate for Stark is legendary. I don’t trust you to do anything."  
  
Natasha turned and went to leave but was stopped by Steve, "Natasha let me help," Steve said weakly.  
  
"Help do what Rogers?" Natasha asked icily.  
  
"I'll talk to SHIELD, or someone, anyone. Just let me do something." Steve knew he sounded like he was pleading but he didn't care. He did care about Tony; he cared about making the team a family again.  
  
"Fine Rogers," Natasha said walking away with Rhodey and Vision. Leaving the rest of the Avengers with their thoughts.


End file.
